Japan's likely next prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who is leading in opinion polls ahead of an election on December 16 and who made his name as a North Korea hawk, called on the United Nations to adopt a resolution "strongly criticizing" Pyongyang.

/Yes, a strongly worded letter from the UN should turn things right around. Thanks mate.

So how many years til North Korea or Iran have a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the continental US? One of these articles was saying Iran was several years away at least, probably closer to a decade, from actually having a working nuke.

Pretty scary, but from the fear mongering earlier this year you'd think these people were just days from having a nuke.

Bit'O'Gristle:Japan's likely next prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who is leading in opinion polls ahead of an election on December 16 and who made his name as a North Korea hawk, called on the United Nations to adopt a resolution "strongly criticizing" Pyongyang.

/Yes, a strongly worded letter from the UN should turn things right around. Thanks mate.

Interestingly, this could be the catalyst for Japan changing their pacifist constitution to rebuild their military. That and the increasing Chinese aggression surrounding tiny rocks in the ocean.

Hell, even the Chinese are angry at the North Koreans. There are rumours that the starvation and economic ruin in the DPRK is much, much worse than anyone suspects- that even the army is stealing food because the soldiers are going hungry. This could be the straw that breaks support for them.

"The rocket, which North Korea says was designed to put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labeled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting targets as far as the continental the United States."

I don't see why the "international community" is getting so bothered by this. North Korea might not be the most responsible of nations, but they're still a sovereign nation. They can still launch their own damn sats if they want.